Planting Architecture

Billowing cow parsley down our back lane

How we moaned about the seemingly endless rain we endured in early Spring... and how magnificently we've been rewarded with flowers and blossom ever since!  The eager-beavers who normally strim our roadside verges, practically to extinction, have kindly left a good swathe of cow parsley for us to enjoy and this year our lanes might even rival those of Devon.

Hogweed
(Heracleum sphondylium)

But nature also loves a contrast and has counteracted all this delicate froth with some seriously structural plants such as hogweed and angelica, which are also burgeoning thanks to the extra rainfall. 
I would say there are ten times as many of these giants as we usually get around here and doubtless they'll lead to an explosion in the insect population as well.

So, what occurs naturally in the landscape gives us ideas for our gardens... growing a sculpted form amongst softer, less defined flowers; choosing plants which contrast in colour as well as in shape.

Sometimes a plant will be more defined in the early stages, before it actually flowers.  I noticed this recently with the Campanulas which are just beginning to open their mauve bells.

Campanula lactiflora

In early-morning light, their ribbed flowers are almost more attractive in bud than when they are fully mature and forming a lilac drift with their companions.  (Would it be blasphemous to suggest that some plants are better in anticipation than at the height of their flowering??)

Take a packet of seeds ... 

Another interesting perennial, in terms of both leaf-shape and flower, is the Aquilegia - which comes in many sizes and colours.  A few years ago we scattered a pack of seeds and enjoyed an amazing display of McKana Giant Hybrids, growing well over a meter high, with blooms in bright mixtures of yellow, red, blue and white.  

Aquilegia McKana Hybrid

They were truly eye-catching and did come back quite well the following year; but then, alas, their foliage started to be eaten up by caterpillars and the plants never looked quite as robust or stately as before.

Determined not to be beaten by pests, I grew some Aquilegia alpina from seed and these have now matured nicely.

Aquilegia alpina

My Chiltern Seeds catalogue says it's "the true wild Columbine of the Alps" and so far its attractive blue-green leaves haven't been attacked by caterpillars, which just goes to show how a slight change in species can deflect an insect-invasion!

But, exquisite though it is, a part of me still longs for the outrageous flamboyance of those McKana's...

A packet of seeds is probably the price of one plant sold at a garden centre, so why not experiment with different varieties and give some away to your friends?  We don't have a greenhouse but find that a cool window-sill and/or a small cold-frame is enough for growing dozens of plants.  You just need to be on hand to keep them watered and potted-up... a bit like having pets really!

Papaver rhoeas

Of course some plants are easier to grow than others and you might think that poppies would be the easiest of the lot.  The Californian type aren't difficult, provided they have free-draining soil and sunshine; and you'll never be without opium poppies once they've set seed in your garden.  (Christina makes me pull them up because their leaves get too big and untidy!)

But the exquisite Papaver rhoeas or Shirley Poppy, which is so delicate in form and colour, can sometimes be tricky and needs to be sown at just the right time.  This year the mild winter prompted me to start seed trays in February, but normally it's better to wait until early April when sunnier days lead to faster germination and sturdier plants. 

Things inevitably flower earlier in our south-facing cottage garden which is now strewn with the white petals of Cistus and Geranium kashmir which come out at the same time.   This is probably our favourite Geranium as it's shade-tolerant and happy in dry spots, making it ideal underplanting for shrubs such as cistus and hibiscus.

Cistus lusitanica and
Geranium clarkei 'Kashmir'

I hasten to add that this wasn't a geranium I grew myself.  It's a family which produces very tiny seeds which are difficult to collect and handle generally.  Once you've established a container-grown specimen in your garden, it's easy to dig up rooted pieces whenever the weather is mild and damp enough for transplanting.  This is a free-flowering variety which makes excellent non-invasive ground-cover.

Foliage shapes

Although we have an abundance of flowers to look forward to, it's equally important to fill your borders with interesting foliage - bearing in mind that this is what you'll be looking at for much of the year.  

This picture demonstrates the effect of low light shining through young plumes of fennel and the newly-formed seedheads of honesty, at the same time reflecting off the bronze foliage of a Carex grass which provides colour contrast.

Whilst I would definitely nominate Cistus as Shrub of the Month (in our garden, for early May at least) I think that many of the wisterias around here would qualify for that accolade.   We'd undoubtedly grow one ourselves if we had more space and, vitally, if we had a solid structure to support it.  Pruning can also present a challenge if they grow higher than two meters!

Wisteria sinensis alba

Last week we passed this lovely white version clothing the corner of a traditional Charentais cottage in one of our nearby villages.  The racemes weren't fully out yet but looked extremely graceful against the mellow stonework and blue shutters.  

We've often thought it would be perfect to have a "ruin" in the garden over which you could drape such a magnificent specimen!

Meanwhile, we have to make-do with a frequently pollarded mulberry tree... 

...and a cat who likes to drape himself!

Our Shrub of the Month actually comprises two types of Cistus, flowering in the front walled garden where they are protected from frost and get a good baking in summer.  I think the one with magenta blooms is Cistus x pulverulentus 'Sunset' - it has downy grey leaves which are strongly aromatic in the sunshine; while its white-flowered cousin is Cistus lusitanica 'Decumbens' which also has appealingly crumpled petals but doesn't have such scented leaves.

Cistus lusitanica has borrowed a 'stripe' from
its neighbour Cistus x pulverulentus!